For a lot of us out there, working in a bar, cafe, restaurant, or really just any hospitality job is a part of life. Slaving away, often dealing with a tonne of frustrating customers, but still (trying) to keep a smile on your fed-up face.
But boy oh boy, have our minds been changed.
The fabulous new GROW Assembly took place over the last weekend, hitting Sydney for the first time after debuting in Melbourne. The basic jist of it? That you can actually make a bloody good career in the hospitality industry and not just look at it as a necessary means to make a buck.
Headlined by speakers who are all absolutely crushing it in the industry, aka Neil Perry (yes THE Neil Perry) of Rockpool Dining Group, Palisa Anderson of Chat Thai and food writer Joanna Savill, the event was festival of #inspo.
Perhaps what was even more fabulous was the sheer numbers of people there. The Balmain Town Hall in Sydney’s on-trend inner west was packed to the rafters, with a handful of young peeps in the crowd.
It’s funny in a way, because we all watch MKR and MasterChef, our weekends are made up of wanting to visit the best bars and restaurants around Oz, and we all read and watch vids about food, drink and amazing venues.
But there always has to be a brains behind the martini glass.
On the back of these super popular first few instalments, we’re sure things are about to GROW (sorry) big time for this event. And it’s actually nice to know that hospitality isn’t all about graveyard shifts, drunken douchebags at the bar and shitty manners. But that it’s actually a pretty damn good choice for a career in a world of minimal job opps.
